14-8-2023 (KUALA LUMPUR) The High Court in Kuala Lumpur was informed that a raid conducted at AmBank (M) Bhd in Jalan Raja Chulan on July 6, 2015, uncovered a staggering sum of RM3.2 billion in the private bank accounts of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
This amount far exceeded what was previously disclosed by the Member of Parliament for Pekan, according to former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
Zeti, who was testifying in Najib’s trial related to RM2.28 billion of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds, revealed that during the raid, the central bank discovered that AmBank had omitted crucial information regarding transactions involving Najib’s accounts.
Furthermore, Zeti stated that AmBank had also excluded several tranches from the International Transactions International System (ITIS), which indicated that funds were being transferred to AmBank accounts other than Najib’s.
Zeti further disclosed that throughout her tenure until her retirement on April 30, 2016, Najib never inquired about the transactions in his accounts.
During the examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar, Zeti was referred to a news article published by a news portal on July 2, 2018, in which Najib claimed that Zeti was aware of the RM2.6 billion deposited into his AmIslamic account but did not raise any concerns.
According to Zeti, at the time, Bank Negara was informed that only one account was registered as “MY” in the Ringgit Operations Monitoring System (ROMS). However, following the raid, the central bank discovered that Najib had opened three additional accounts in 2013. Zeti explained that Bank Negara would only take action against an account if it received reports from the commercial bank managing the account in question.
If any irregularities or suspicions arose, Bank Negara would then notify enforcement agencies.
“We would then inform law enforcement authorities such as the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) or the police. We are not allowed to inform anyone else, including the account holder, about the report made to the authorities,” Zeti stated.
Previously, Zeti had denied having knowledge of the RM2.6 billion deposits into Najib’s accounts, as claimed by the former Prime Minister.
Najib, aged 68, is facing 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds.
The trial will continue before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
